SOCHI, RUSSIA—It’s barely three minutes into the first period of the United States-Sweden quarter-final at the world under-18 championship, and most of the 50 or so NHL scouts packed into a block of seats at Shayba Arena are furiously scribbling away on closely guarded lineup sheets.

Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting Dave Morrison, for one, is leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes glued to the ice. A few rows in front, Craig MacTavish, the Edmonton Oilers’ newly-minted general manager, murmurs something to a couple team scouts on his left.

It might seem strange that such top-level NHL brass would fly thousands of kilometres to southern Russia to watch 230 teenagers battle for one of the less-heralded championships on the IIHF schedule. But since the 10-team tournament began in 1999, scouts agree it has become one of the most critical dates on the NHL scouting calendar, a seasonal denouement for amateur evaluators looking to catch a final glimpse of dozens of prospects just weeks before the June 30 entry draft.

“It’s the last chance to see all the players that you’re going to draft, so obviously that’s huge,” says Hakan Andersson, the Detroit Red Wings’ director of European scouting.

So rare is it to watch so many draft-eligible teenagers playing high-stakes minutes, so close to draft day and all in one place, some NHL teams have been known to send entire scouting departments to the under-18 championships. The Sochi tournament, which began April 18 and ends Sunday, has drawn roughly 200 scouts, according to IIHF organizers.

But while scouts agree the games — all 31 of them — are crucial for last-minute evaluation before the draft combine, the specifics of what they’re looking for remain a matter of opinion. Can a lesser prospect step up in the clutch? Can a back-line player from a professional team, like Russian prospect Valeri Nichushkin, who plays for the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk, become a front-end scorer?

According to Andersson, a 23-year scout who had a hand in drafting current Red Wings stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, the tournament provides scouts with the unique opportunity to watch 17- and 18-year-olds skate with and against their peers, rather than more seasoned junior or professionals players.

Scouts, therefore, find it easier to get a read on a player’s skill level, he says. As a result, the imperfect science of projecting a teenager’s future potential becomes a bit more reliable. Ironically, it’s been 16-year-old Connor McDavid, of Newmarket, Ont., who has lit up the tournament, leading all scorers with 14 points, including two hat tricks in his last three games.

“Some of the guys who play with the pro teams all year, they might not get on the power play, they might not play with the scorers, but now with the under-18 team they play with the best centre or the best winger and all-of-a-sudden they get to show what they can do,” says Niklas Blomgren, head European scout for the Chicago Blackhawks. “You can have a question mark on a player who hasn’t been able to show exactly what he can do because he’s not put in a role to succeed. Now you can see if he is really what you thought he is.”

The scout’s job, of course, is challenged by the fact many of the top draft-eligible 18-year-olds are forced to skip the tournament. This year, Canadians Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Zachary Fucale, all likely first-round picks, are still playing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. And Finland’s Aleksander Barkov, NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked European skater, has sat out while nursing a shoulder injury.

Scouts, meanwhile, have been buzzing over the 6’3”, 196-pound Nichushkin, Central Scouting’s second-ranked European skater. Despite scoring three goals in Russia’s 7-4 quarterfinal win over Germany on Thursday, the 18-year-old potentially damaged his draft stock earlier in the week, telling Russian media here he plans to play at least two more seasons in the KHL and would prefer to be drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers.

The tournament maintains something akin to a playoff atmosphere – they’re still “big games on a big stage,” Canadian forward Josh Morrissey says – and, the scouting logic goes, players that shine in the spring as 17-year-olds are more likely to do so down the road as they bulk up with age.

“Players who can show well in April, when the stakes get a little bit higher, when there are things on the line, that’s something that speaks very, very well for a prospect moving forward,” says Ross MacLean, head scout at Florida-based International Scouting Services, who has consulted NHL teams in the past.

For the players, it’s clear: first impressions hardly matter when final impressions could make all the difference come June.

“It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” says Regina-born winger Morgan Klimchuk, 18, a potential first-round pick, who scored the first goal in Canada’s 3-1 semifinal win over Finland on Friday.

“You’ve got to make a good impression since it’s the last time (scouts) are going to see you. It adds some pressure for sure. You want to show how you stack up.”

MacLean, however, acknowledges that the tournament is one chapter long season’s worth of appraisal.

“But for a lot of people,” he says, “it’s tough to get over the last time you watch a player play.”

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